How we begin

We start by talking to you at length. We need to know who the tree is for; do you want the starting point to be, for example, you, a child, or your parents? Then we need you to tell us all that you know about your parents and grandparents. From this, we can trace every line of your family through civil registration records (1837 to date) and census records 1841 to 1901.

What we usually find

From the example below you can see that we found all but one of our

client’s great-great grandparents, where they were born, where they lived

and, in many cases, their occupations. We expect to find most of your

ancestors who were adults in 1841.  Before accepting your commission,

we do a preliminary search to ensure that we can achieve this.

No payment will be required for this search. The most recent census we

have access to is 1901 (there is a 100 year rule).You will understand, then,

why it is that we can discover more information about your relatives

before 1901 than after 1901.

What we may not find

We initially use only census and civil registration data so that the document we produce is more affordable. Please consult the featured tree again. We do not have everyone’s death and we do not have all ladies’ maiden names. This is to be expected using the resources that we do. To fill in these gaps and to go back further in time incurs extra cost in time and resources. If you wish to know more, we will tailor our extra searches to your needs. We keep in regular contact with you throughout and provide you with a report when we send your tree, specifying what we require to find out more.

What you will receive

We hope that the following pages will give you a flavour of the completed document. This client’s folder totalled 73 pages (including photographs which she supplied). We will also enclose a report outlining what we need to do to discover more.